Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0Households in Northborough have higher incomes than those in 95% of U.S. towns
3.7% of residents are in poverty, against 10.0% across Massachusetts. The two grades for Northborough are A for jobs and income and B for walkability. About one in ten stay in Northborough for work; outside it, Worcester is the main destination (11%, 9 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Northborough: the gist
Stores, warehouses and trucking
45% of the jobs in Northborough are in trade, transport and utilities, against 16% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Northborough draws workers from far and wide
The 9,398 jobs in Northborough are filled from a wide area. Northborough’s own residents hold 7% and the ten next-biggest home towns 32%; the other 61% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
The figures behind Northborough’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Northborough is better than 88% of U.S. towns, #95 of 283 in Massachusetts. Household income holds Northborough’s grade up ($153,199, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (5.0%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Northborough could be anywhere from A− to A+.
69% of the jobs in Northborough pay over $3,333 a month
9,398 jobs are based in Northborough.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Northborough, 2013 → 2023: 7,102 → 9,398. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Northborough’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The towns that employ Northborough’s residents
Where Northborough clocks in
11% of workers
9% of workers
8% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Northborough fills up on a workday
On a workday 6,478 residents head out to work, 635 work right here, and 8,763 people come in from elsewhere.
About 18,000 people are in Northborough on a workday afternoon, 14% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.32 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
How long Northborough spends getting to work: about 31 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Northborough workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,623 commuters (the 23% who work from home are left out). Across Massachusetts: 75% drive alone, 8% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Where in the region Northborough works
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Few in Northborough walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Northborough is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns, #187 of 283 in Massachusetts. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 14.1% across Massachusetts, on an EPA index of 6.9.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 8,547 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 4.9% of Northborough households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Northborough’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 2,220 U.S. towns of 11,000 to 22,000, Northborough comes 478th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | Weston MA | 11,729 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Norwell MA | 11,546 | $189K | 2.7% | 1.9% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Westwood MA | 16,426 | $223K | 4.6% | 1.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 476 | Severance CO | 11,841 | $125K | 5.2% | 2.3% | 2% | A |
| 477 | Wyomissing PA | 11,285 | $93K | 7.3% | 2.1% | 10% | A |
| 478 | Northborough MA | 16,080 | $153K | 3.7% | 5.0% | 9% | A |
| 479 | Grafton MA | 21,043 | $131K | 6.3% | 3.6% | 8% | A |
| 480 | Lake Arbor MD | 14,335 | $121K | 4.5% | 5.1% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,220 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Northborough, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
Northborough and its neighbors: 14% work next door
The biggest share goes to Marlborough (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Northborough workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northborough | – | A | B | 31 min | $153,199 |
| Westborough | 5% | A | A− | 29 min | $141,944 |
| Marlborough | 9% | B+ | A− | 30 min | $91,968 |
| Shrewsbury | under 2% | A+ | B+ | 31 min | $139,302 |
| Boylston | under 2% | A | C | 27 min | $140,962 |
| Berlin | under 2% | A− | B− | 34 min | $121,336 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Northborough’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Northborough: questions
What is the median household income in Northborough?
$153,199 (±$19,436) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Northborough?
3.7%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Northborough?
31 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Northborough work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Worcester (11%, 9 mi), Marlborough (9%, 5 mi), Boston (8%, 32 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Northborough walkable?
Northborough is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 6.9 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Northborough without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Northborough, from the people who make the trip.
More of Northborough
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.